Traylor Howard
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
Sunny blonde actress Traylor Howard had her first professional job in a Juicy Fruit gum commercial while a junior in high school. From this start, the Florida native opted to pursue a career not in acting, but in the production end of advertising. After a move to Los Angeles and a series of dissatisfying jobs in that field, Howard returned to acting and completed several commercials. In 1996 she was cast in the NBC comedy "Boston Common" as Joy Byrnes, a pretty and strong-willed doctoral candidate who inspires Boyd Pritchett, the love-struck visiting brother of another student, to take a job at the school in order to be near her and keep an eye on his younger sister. Joy, the focus of the show's primary conflict, was torn between her boyfriend, a snide young professor and Boyd, a sharp and unaffected Southerner played by comedian Anthony Clark. Though the show was primarily a vehicle for Clark's comedy, Howard's role was pivotal, and she aptly played the idealistic and confused graduate student. The actress followed with another series regular stint, in another Boston set comedy this time starring with Ryan Reynolds and Richard Ruccolo in ABC's "Two Guys and a Girl/Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place" (1998-2001). Howard played title girl Sharon, a spirited, opinionated best friend and neighbor to the two guys, Berg and Pete, a couple of diverted graduate students who work in a pizzeria. Sharon, an edgier role than the actress' previous series work, was unlucky in love, unhappy at work and often caught up in her friends' zany misadventures. While appearing on the series, she started her film career, appearing in two films in 1998. In her first release, the independent comedy "Confessions of a Sexist Pig," Howard played the female lead of Anne Henning. Next up was the widely released caustic comedy "Dirty Work," in which the actress starred opposite Norm MacDonald's revenge seeking entrepreneur Mitch.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Life Events
1996
Had featured role as Joy Byrnes on the NBC sitcom "Boston Common"
1998
First film appearances in "Confessions of a Sexist Pig" and "Dirty Work"
1998
Co-starred in the ABC sitcom "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place"; show renamed "Two Guys and a Girl" in 1999
2000
Played Jim Carrey's wife in "Me, Myself & Irene"
2000
Acted in "How I Fell in Love" at the Williamstown Theatre Festival
2002
Co-starred with Alfred Molina on the CBS comedy "Bram and Alice"
2005
Joined the cast of the USA series "Monk" as a replacement for Bitty Schram; playing Tony Shalhoub's new assistant Natalie, a former bartender and single mom
2005
Starred with Jamie Kennedy in the comedy "Son of the Mask"
Companions
